The Rise to Power
by Zendius'n'Zora
Summary: Zendius is a young up-and-coming dark sith lord. Follow him on his rise to power as he vanquishes foes and gains a young faithful apprentice, Zora, who he turns from the light side to join his cause.
1. The Path

**The Rise of Zendius**

Author: Zendius

(Beta: Aozora12)

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Disclaimer: We do not own SWTOR or anything affiliated with it. We do own our own characters.

Warning: Some spoilers

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As the war between the Empire and Republic continues on the world of Balmorra, the Empire is running out of troops. The Republic advances, taking siege of the Balmorran Arms Factory. Just as their soldiers began to celebrate their victory, an Imperial Dreadnaught descends onto the planet, hovering in just above the ground as it kicks up dust everywhere.

The ship's large metal door opens, revealing a single silhouette through the thick dust; a man in black and red spiked armor, with a mask covering his face. The man drops from the ship with a thunderous boom as he hits the ground, making more dust fly into the air. A squad of republic troops quickly forms, going to investigate the man as the ship flies off.

The commander of the Republic troops stationed at the factory looks on at the scene from the safety of the weapons factory. From his office in the factory he sees a red light and blaster shots flying through the air. As the dust settles he sees his soldiers lying dead around the man, and it is clear the man in black and red armor was indeed a sith lord. The commander watches in shock as the sith then walks through the battlefield, slicing and shocking anyone who dares get in his way.

As the sith passes a crashed ship, he hears a voice. "Lay down your lightsaber and surrender!" This only made the sith laugh. He laughed even harder as a wounded civilian-looking man emerged from the wreckage. The sith lunged at him and, to his surprise and pleasure, the man drew a lightsaber of his own; his was green and shined as bright as a star. As the two locked sabers the sith exclaimed "Finally, a challenge!"

As the two exchanged strikes the jedi bunted the sith with the end of his saber, knocking his mask off. The jedi looks upon the sith's face and he notices red eyes and long crimson hair. Then the sith, grinning evilly, slices the jedi's hand off. Then, with a large jolt of lightning, throws the jedi into a cliff, making boulders and rubble fall onto the jedi. There was no chance of surviving that. Amused at the tiny little challenge, the sith picks up his mask and puts it back on. He then turns his attention toward the Balmorran weapons factory and, after taking the fallen jedi's saber, he sprints towards the factory in a gust of wind.

By the time he arrived the Republic troops had surrendered. Anyone who could defeat a jedi would certainly tear right through them.

Fifteen minutes after the capture of the factory, the sith had started executing the survivors. He laughed cruelly, enjoying himself as he watched the light fade from his victims' eyes. Finally he came to the Republic commander, who glared at him with hate. The commander spoke, asking only one thing.

"Who are you?" The sith held his saber to the commanders throat as he answers.

"Lord Zendius." He then slices the commander's head off, laughing loudly, his deep voice booming throughout the entire arms factory.

Later, as Lord Zendius was leaving the now empty and bloodied factory, he heard sobbing from behind some barrels. Investigating, he discovered a young girl, perhaps only about sixteen years old. The girl gasped upon being discovered and she quickly jumped out from her hiding spot, drawing her weapon. Darth Zendius was surprised to see that the girl wielded a double-bladed light saber, the crystal matching her eyes, a deep enchanting blue. The girl stood in a defensive stance. Her body trembled with fear as tears rolled down her eyes, but she held her ground as she faced the man who had just killed her master.

"You will pay for my master's death, sith!" she declared. Zendius just chuckled.

"You… are going to make me pay?" he cackled, drawing his own blood red light saber. "You are funny, little one. Tell me, what is your name?" He asked as he slowly stepped towards her. She took a step back fearfully but, though she was afraid, she answered him.

"Aozora." She told him, before leaping to attack him.

Zendius just laughed, amused, as he easily blocked her attacks before swiftly disarming her. With a kick to the stomach she was sent flying into the wall, where she sank to the ground, defeated. She looked up at Zendius fearfully as he approached her. This was it, she was going to die. She flinched when the man offered her his hand.

"Join me, Zora," he said, shortening her name to her surprise, "and commit yourself to the dark side of the force." She swiftly shook her head. She refused Zendius, and he just couldn't take no for an answer. Enraged, he shocked her with a lightning blast. She still refused; she was stubborn, but so was Zendius… and the poor girl had no idea who she was messing with. After hours of torture, both mental and physical, she finally agreed to join Zendius, not like she had a choice to begin with. Aozora limped out of the arms factory behind him, the new young apprentice to an upstarting sith lord. Zendius chuckled to himself as his apprentice followed him.

His rise to power was just beginning…

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Thanks for reading! Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are actually 2 authors. Zendius, and Aozora12; who has written several stories on her own (go check her out). Zendius is the brains for this story, but alas lacks the grammatical prowess of Zora, hence Zora is the beta for this story (you should have seen it before she worked on it)

Anyways, nice to meet ya! Hope you enjoy this story and any others that we come up with. Part 2 is coming soon!

Look us up on the game, if you want! Info below:

Game: SWTOR (Star Wars: The Old Republic)

Server: The Ebon Hawk

Dark side: Zendius &amp; Aozo-ra


	2. The Rise

Disclaimer: We do not own SWTOR

WARNING: minor spoilers

**Part 2**

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...Zendius's victory on Balmorra has earned him a new apprentice, Aozo'ra, whom he calls Zora for short. Zora now faces the hardest struggle of her life. She must prove herself worthy of his trust… or die. Her new master is a strict, powerful man. His lessons are harsh, and he has much to teach her before he will fully accept her as his apprentice. First, however, he needed to break her. Only then would she fully succumb to the dark side of the force.

So he takes her to Tatooine for training. There was a training ground for young jedi padawans there, who were learning basic desert survival skills. Children, perhaps just a few years younger than Zora, who were heavily guarded by well-trained jedi. Zendius brought her to just a few klicks away from the training grounds and then pointed in the direction of the camp. She could just barely see tents off in the distance.

"Go. Kill them. Leave no survivors." Zendius ordered harshly, handing her the new lightsaber he'd made for her. It was a simple single-bladed light saber, with a red crystal rather than her favored blue. She still wore her padawan uniform, as she had refused to part with it, but Zendius knew she would gladly wear whatever he chose for her after this day was done. Just seeing the padawan uniform would likely haunt her from this day forward.

Zora knew what was out there. She, herself, had trained at this camp only a few years ago. A thought drifted through her mind. She could possibly escape this way… call for help… but one look at her new master and she knew it was hopeless. He would know the instant she tried to run away. Even if she managed to escape somehow, he would track her down and, most likely, kill her. Her only chance at surviving was to do as he said…

Several hours later, as the planet's two suns were beginning to set, Zendius looked up from his perch on a boulder to see a female silhouette approaching him slowly. His grin was cruel and amused as he watched his apprentice walk ever closer to him. Soon she was close enough for him to see her clearly. Blood was splattered all over her body, some of it on her face. Her eyes were darker than usual and empty, and her face held no emotion. She walked slowly, as if in a trance, her bloodied saber hanging limply in her hand. She finally stopped just in front of him.

"My, my… what took so long, my apprentice?" Zendius chuckled, very pleased with himself. This was perfect. She was vulnerable, weak… easy to break… All it would take now is a few words. Chuckling, he stood and began pacing around his young apprentice, looking her over. "Look at you, all covered blood. The blood of innocent children. You killed them all, didn't you, my apprentice? Every. Last. One." He paused, looking to gauge her expression. She looked horrified with herself. She was shaking, and she stared down at her bloody hands in horror. He grinned behind his mask as he continued circling her like prey. "How can you ever hope to go back to that life now? The jedi order would never accept you back. No, they would kill you, instead, because of what you are."

"What I… am?" her voice was soft and shaky as she kept staring at her hands. Zendius stopped just behind her and removed his mask as he bent to whisper in her ear.

"A murderer." At that word Zora passed out. Zendius just chuckled darkly to himself as he caught her. Perfect. She was broken.

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Four years of training passed by quickly for Zora. Once she finally gave in to the dark side and learned to obey her master, her training went much easier. Soon enough she had her master's trust, and with his trust came freedom. She was able to do things she would have never been allowed to do as a jedi, and she was loving it.

Zendius led his apprentice through the Imperial Fleet. The commoners and soldiers all parted for them to pass. In just four years Zendius had gone from a Lord to a Darth. He was the talk of the Empire, the emperor's new favorite, and now a member of the Dark Council. He was one person you did not want to screw with, and his apprentice was right up there with him.

"Master, why must we be here? There are too many people; it's annoying." Zora huffed as she followed her master through the parting crowds.

"Patience, apprentice. You should know by now that there's a reason for everything I do." Zendius chuckled, leading her to the fleet's bar. Just as they were sitting down in a private booth, Zendius got a call on his holo. His grin told Zora that he was expecting this call. She watched with interest as he answered. "Ah, what a pleasure. It is not every day I receive a call from the Emperor, himself." He spoke in his most pleasant tone.

"I am in no mood for your false flattery, boy." The emperor scolded. "There is a matter I need you to deal with immediately. Had you done your job correctly on Balmorra we would not have this problem." The emperor huffed.

"What seems to be the problem, my liege?" Zendius inquired.

"That jedi you killed on Balmorra all those years ago. He was a member of the Greys, a group of force users who consist of both jedi and sith. The Greys want nothing more than to destroy my empire. They were only a minor threat at the time of you Balmorran invasion, but after you killed their leader they grew to be a serious threat. Had you handled this properly a soldier would not have escaped to report that a sith had killed their leader. You are responsible for this group. Destroy them!" the emperor disconnected at that point.

Zendius only chuckled and put his holo away. He turned to his apprentice, then frowned upon seeing her in a trance-like state. He snapped his fingers in front of her face, watching as she blinked back to the present.

"I saw… my old master… alive." Zora mumbled out. "But how?"

"Your jedi master is dead, of that I'm sure." Zendius told her. "Now, come along. We have an organization to take down."

The pair set a course for Nar Shaddaa, the last known location of the Greys. As they exited the spaceport, Zora looked up at her master. "Why are we doing this, master? I thought you took orders from nobody. Why do we obey the emperor's every demand?"

"It is all part of my plan." Zendius chuckled. "I obey now but, when the time is right, I will strike. Then I shall be the emperor, the most powerful being in the universe." Zora merely nodded; she'd heard it all before but her master had yet to make a move for the throne at any point in the last four years. She wondered just how long his plan would take. "There." Her master's voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see what looked like a sith take a taxi, but not just any taxi… a republic taxi. "Quickly." Zendius ordered, and they hurried after him. After tracking him to a private room in the Starcluster Casino they quickly discovered a small group of jedi and sith conversing in relative peace.

"M-master!" Zora gasped, her eyes widening as she saw her former teacher in the center of the room. "My vision, it was right!"

"Hush." Zendius shushed her, observing the room. Yes, that was the jedi he had killed before acquiring his new apprentice… He never forgot a face. Glancing around, Zendius counted six other men, jedi and sith, all armed with lightsabers but wearing light armor. They were not expecting an attack. How foolish of them. "Stay put, apprentice. Do not move." His tone left no room to argue, so Zora just nodded and watched as her master calmly strode into the room as if he owned it.

Zora's old master was the first to react, drawing his lightsaber. The sound of the saber activating alerted the others in the room to danger, and they quickly drew theirs as well. Zendius just stood there calmly, chuckling. The leader, Zora's previous master, stared him down for a second before speaking.

"It's you… the man who took my hand from me, gave me this scar, and killed my padawan." He spoke angrily. Zendius only chuckled.

"It's not often people survive an encounter with me. Tell me, how did you do it?" he grinned, though his metal mask hid it.

"Under all that rubble, I thought I was going to die. I was certain of it. But the ghost of my master, Orgus Din, showed me the way out." The jedi frowned. "Really, I should thank you. Without you I wouldn't have this." He held up his hand that had been cut off. Now there was a robotic hand in its place. "This hand has greatly improved my light saber skills, and because of it I have become strong enough to defeat you." Zendius just laughed.

"Oh, really? Then prove it." He laughed, shooting lightning at the jedi. Everyone in the room attacked but Zendius killed the weaker ones with ease, leaving only Zora's former master to face down. The two clashed, and were evenly matched for a long time, but the jedi had more brute strength, whereas Zendius was more of a distance fighter. When it came down to close contact fighting, the jedi had the upper hand. After a long fight Zendius found himself unable to defend properly anymore. He was weakened, and things were not looking good for him.

"Know this, sith scum." The jedi declared as he prepared to make the killing blow. "You were slain by the Jedi Knight Rykanda!" He swung his blade down, only to be blocked by another crimson blade. Rykanda's eyes widened in shock as he stared into the ocean blue eyes that belonged to his former padawan… who was still alive and… siding with his enemy?! He is shocked by this, which left him vulnerable enough for Zora to kick him away from her new master.

Rykanda recovered quickly and summoned backup into the room. Soon enough fifteen jedi were filling the room, surrounding the two sith. The odds were bad for the apprentice and her weakened master, but a stroke of lucky befell them then. Crashing through the ceiling, a heavily armored woman came flying in, spraying bullets and shooting flames in all directions. The jedi quickly retreated and Rykanda escaped, but the two sith were alive… and that's all that mattered at that moment.

Zora quickly tended to her master's wounds once the danger was over. After a few seconds she looked up at the woman who had saved them, a bounty hunter in camo armor. The bounty hunter watched them for just a second before sighing. "How do I always get involved in sith affairs? Darn, Mako, stop getting me into these messes." She grumbled to herself before sighing and turning to Zora and Zendius, who was just managing to sit up.

"Hunter, do not take my words lightly… but I thank you." Zendius sighed, removing his mask. "Without you, we would all be dead."

"Che. Whatever. My target is that Jedi, anyways." She shrugged, then extended her hand. "The name's Luccii. I'll do anything, for the right price. My info." She flipped out a little disc and handed it to him after shaking his hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me… I've got some hunting to do. Give me a call if you need something only a bounty hunter can handle." That said, she took off in her jet pack.

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It was long after Zendius and Zora got back to their ship when the Emperor called them from the ship's holoterminal. His anger was obvious and his orders were clear. They were to meet him at once at his Flagship. Zora flew the ship while Zendius jumped into a kolto tank to heal from his fight. Soon enough they were docked and boarding the emperor's private ship.

"Apprentice." Zendius stopped Zora just before they entered the emperor's personal chambers. He removed his mask and looked her dead in the eye. "The time is now." He said seriously. "No matter the outcome, do not move from where I tell you to stand." He was dead serious, and Zora knew what was about to happen. Her master was going to overthrow the emperor today.

A few seconds later they entered the throne room. Zendius had Zora stop only a few paces from the door, and then he approached the emperor. Zora watched as they talked for a while about matters she wasn't really privy to yet. She watched the emperor pace back and forth. And then… then he let his guard down. He turned away from Zendius… and Zendius took his chance to strike. The next thing anyone knew, the emperor had been impaled with a lightsaber… Zendius's light saber…

"Why… Zendiuis…" the emperor choked out his last words. "You were so… loyal…"

"Wrong." Zendius laughed evilly. "I was never loyal. I was merely biding my time until I could kill you." He withdrew his blade and laughed maniacally as the emperor fell to a heap on the ground, his blood pooling around him. He turned to the guards that were just staring at the scene in shock. "Hear this, worms! You have a new emperor! Let the galaxy know, Emperor Zendius has taken the throne!"

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Pt. 3 coming soon.

Thanks for reading! Please, leave a comment to let us know what you think!

Some new characters came up in this chapter. Look us up if you want!

SWTOR server Ebon Hawk

Zendius's characters: Zendius, Rykanda

Zora's characters: Aozo-ra, Luccii


	3. The Rule

**The Emperor is dead and Zendius has taken his place, with his apprentice as his personal guard. However, young Zora still has a lot to prove to her master. She was still not worthy of earning the title of Lord from him. To test her further, Zendius sent Zora to Tatooine once more, to ravage a hidden republic base located in the dune sea. Before she leaves Zendius calls her into his throne room…**

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"You have done well, my young apprentice, in serving me and even facing your old master. You have grown strong in the dark side these past four years. And to think you were only a little padawan when I met you. A weak little thing with so much raw potential. You just needed… cultivating." His grin was wide and evil as he recalled how he 'cultivated' her through harsh training and hours of torture. Zora still remembered that, of course, but she hid it in the back of her mind, forcing herself for so many years to like her master that she actually truly liked him now. Even now she was smiling proudly at his praise.

"The lightsaber you had back then, the one I took from you when I made you my apprentice… I believe you are ready to have it back." Zendius handed her the double-bladed lightsaber from her days as a padawan, training under her master. "It's slightly more powerful than before, and I've added a new crimson color crystal." Zora bows before her master, grateful for her gift. She smiles to herself as the Emperor pats her head lightly before sending her away. Tatooine awaits.

Upon landing on Tatooine, she notices a man in a robe that looks an awful lot like a jedi, and he is following her. As she's walking she takes a turn down an alley, and the man still follows her. Thinking fast, she sets a trap for the jedi, luring him to a dead end and then attacking him. He is easy to subdue. Once he is weakened Zora begins to interrogate him, using some techniques she learned from watching Zendius. She zaps him until he's barely conscious from the pain, and then she asks where the Grey's base is. He refuses to talk and, frustrated, she kills him.

Zora was incredibly lucky that the jedi had a coordinate cylinder on his belt. She takes it, and his robe, putting the cloak on to blend in. Then she hurries to the coordinates, where she finds a hidden base among the sand and rocks. The base is heavily fortified, and guarded by ugly pig-like Gamoreans. To top it all off a huge sandstalker stood in the way. She recognized it as a beast of legend on Tatooine, the infamous Trapjaw. This would be one tough base to infiltrate.

Sighing, Zora pulls the jedi cloak up around her face. With the disguise and her knowledge of Republic security combined, she makes her way past the guards and the beast. Sneaking through the halls of the base, she quickly finds the best location for her attack, placing one of many small yet very powerful bombs in the room. Placing a few more bombs in hidden locations throughout the base, she soon finds her way out of the base and far enough into the desert to be safe. Nighttime had fallen by then, and as she pressed the button to detonate the bombs, Zora watched gleefully as the night was lit up from the many explosions. The base never stood a chance….

She returns to the spaceport that night, knowing she needed to get off the planet quickly. Unbeknownst to her, a whole squad of Republic troops was waiting for her at the spaceport. How they'd found her so quickly, she didn't know. Zora merely sighed heavily and whipped off her disguise, drawing her saber as she faced down the troops. They met a swift end.

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Upon returning to her master's throne room, Zora gasps in shock and horror as she sees the room in chaos. Burns from blaster bolts covered the walls, republic trooper corpses litter the ground, and her master's metal throne was sliced in half, still glowing red hot from feeling the blade of a lightsaber. Zora finds her master on the ground and she runs to him as he struggles to stand. Before she reaches him, however, a blaster shot connects with her shoulder, sending her to the ground. She quickly regained her footing and stands, holding her injured shoulder as she glares at the two troopers and injured jedi that remain. They were all that remained of a small army, and they'd been so close to killing the emperor. But now… they'd made Zora angry…

Zora seethed with fury, her eyes glowing red as the power of the dark side swirled around her. How DARE they touch her master?! With a raging fury she attacked them, brutally hacking them into pieces with her saber, making them beg for mercy.

Once she'd sated her anger she hurried back to her master, taking out a kolto pack and using it to seal up his wounds. She was thankful he was still conscious, though only slightly. With the amount of blood he'd lost he was acting as if he was drunk. She ended up having to sedate him so he could heal properly.

Two days later Zendius came to, fully healed after two days in a kolto tank. He drained the kolto tank and stepped out, trying to remember what had happened to him. When he finally remembered he seethed in rage. Zora felt the disturbance in the force from her master's rage all the way across the ship, and she hurried to his side. She stared in awe when she saw him standing there, his eyes glowing an evil red as the dark side of the force swirled and lashed around him like a black and purple hurricane, crackling with jolts of electricity all the while. He was intimidating and powerful… and royally pissed.

"Apprentice." His voice was darker than she'd ever heard it before, and she visibly flinched when he turned his eyes upon her. "Prepare yourself, Apprentice. This is war."

Not even an hour later the emperor had summoned his apprentice and three of the best bounty hunters he knew to his throne room. Luccii, who Zora had met before, stood calmly in a corner with her Mandalorian husband, Torian. Both looked calm yet excited all at once. Standing in the center of the room was a Chiss hunter, who called himself Stressfire. And finally there was a cyborg with a cybernetic eye standing off to the side, Zybolt. Zora stood at her master's side and listened closely at he told them what happened that fateful day. Havoc squad had sent troops to attack him, and the Grey's had sent one of their jedi to assist.

"Listen up, worms. I've summoned you here to defeat an organization. You are the best of the best, and I will accept nothing but the best for this. Of course that also means I'm offering up the best credits you will ever find in this galaxy. You are going to destroy the Greys, and bring me the head of Rykanda." Zendius declared, still furious over what had happened. He turned to his apprentice now. "Apprentice, you will become a Lord if you succeed in this mission. Do not fail me." His voice was cold, stern, and it frightened Zora.

"I will never fail you, my master. This I swear."

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Hello dear readers! It's ME, Zora! Hey, don't forget me: Zendius! We've brought you another chapter! Sorry it was such a long wait. Zendius has been busy with school. And Zora has been busy with work. That's no excuse, though. Thank you for patiently waiting for this chapter! We hope you enjoyed it, and we plan on the next chapter coming up soon.

Thanks for reading!


	4. The Visions

Part 4

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...The new Emperor has been attacked in his throne room. Furious, Zendius hires the most dangerous bounty hunters the galaxy has to offer, in order to hunt down the leader of the cult that attacked him, Rykanda. Hours after he sends the hunters he gets a transmission from one of them. They found the guy, but they're pinned down on Alderann. Zendius grabs his lightsaber and his apprentice, Zora, and sets off to help the hunters. Upon boarding his ship, Zendius' apprentice stops, asking if he's sure this is a good idea.

"Master, are you sure this is wise? Last time we walked into something like this you almost didn't make it out."

Zendius just grins "That is true, my apprentice, but you forget I've grown even stronger since then. Nobody can stop me now."

"As you say Master" Zora says, still worried. They hurry to Alderann and, as they exit their ship, they are greeted by one of the chiss bounty hunters.

"My lord, the cult is stronger than we thought." he said as he coughed up blood and held his side. The hunter dropped to his knees and Zora called for Talos to help him into the med bay onboard the ship.

"Where are the others?" Zendius asked the injured hunter as he was being moved.

"House Organa" he coughed in pain. With that, Zendius and his apprentice sped off to House Organa.

Meanwhile, at the fight, the two other hunters are crouched behind a wrecked speeder, using it as cover. Zybolt throws a firebomb over the speeder, taking out a couple droids. Luccii, trying to top Zybolt, throws two detonators taking out two droids, a jedi, and a sith. She grinned cockily at Zybolt, who rolled his eyes.

At that momment, Zendius and his apprentice arrived and, as Zora checked on the hunters, Zendius jumped over the speeder, facing an entire army of Jedi, Sith, and Execution droids. Zora tells Zendius to get back but he just looks back and smiles.

"I don't need to." In shock of what her master just said, she watches him walk through a hail of gunfire without getting a scratch. As he walks toward the army his eyes start glowing purple and he cloackes himself in lightning. Then he sends a huge shockwave of force lightning towards the army, killing them all.

The two hunters look on in disbelief at what they just seen. The ground still shaking from what Zendius just did. As the ground settles, an imperial dropship lowers just above the ground. Zendius notices the dropship's number was 115763, which was reported stolen over a year ago, but Zendius just thinks its a coinsidence. As the back opens, Zendius expects to see reinforcements, but instead, a blue cannon shot nails Zendius in the chest, sending him flying back into a wall. Rubble crashes down on top of him.

His apprentice, filled with fear that her master might be dead, takes a stand where Zendius previously stood. Instead of a cannon shot, however, a female republic trooper emerges from the ship, recognizing Zora.

"Zora? Is it really you? It's been so long!"

Startled by what the troop just said Zora responds "Who are you? How do you know me?" So much confusion surrounded Zora. Who was this trooper? How could she possibly know her? In fear and confusioin, Zora force throws a huge rock at the trooper. "I don't know you! Leave!"She shouted.

The trooper, filled with confusion herself, says "How could you not? We are best friends." The trooper removed her helmet now.

"A twi'lek! You're a twi'lek soldier?!" said Zybolt about to laugh. The twi'lek soldier took a shot at him but missed.

"Quiet hunter, I'm not here for you."

The sight of the twi'lek soldier sent Zora into a vision of her past. She saw herself as a kid in the jedi temple on Tython, playing with a yound twi'lek from the nearby village. Then she saw them older, going through combat training together, still on Tython. And then another vision, being in the same shuttle as they landed on Balmorra on that fateful day... Zora snapped back to reality.

"Yahili?" she asked in shock. The Twi'lek looked over to Zora.

"That's right, its me."

"I can't believe it. We got separated on Balmorra. I thought you died in the fighting." Zora said in shock. Just then the ground began to shake voilently, gaining intensity as it went. It was such force, more violent than anything anyone there had experienced. Suddenly, from the rubble behind Zora, an explosion came and a dust cloud shot up. From that cloud a purple silhouett appeared and got brighter and brighter. As it hit the ground a crater formed from the impact. After the dust settled they all saw that it was no other than Zora's master, Zendius, enraged at being shot. Without a word he started force choking Yahili and, when it looked as if Yahili was lifeless, Zendius let her go.

The trooper dropped to the ground, unconscious, and with her rear in the air. Zendius ordered that they all leave now and, as all four of the imperials left, Zybolt looked back at the trooper and whistled at the view. Luccii slapped him for being a pervert.

Back at the new emperor's throne room, the hunters thanked Zendius and his apprentice for coming to their aid, knowing that if it wasnt for them they'd be dead. Zendius then debriefs them on what happened on Alderaan.

"What about Rykanda? Was he there?" Zora questioned them. The hunters regrefully said he wasn't even on that planet, but those were definitely his forces.

Zenius just accepts this answer.

"You've earned some rest. You will head back out in search for Rykanda when rested." he half ordered half suggested. But they knew it was mostly an order. He dismissed the hunters and, on their way out, Zybolt turns to him.

"So... where's my payment?" Zendius gave him an evil glare and shot a bolt of lighting at him. He let his actions speak. You get paid after the job is done. Zybolt let out a yelp and scurried off. Zendius then turns his attention to Zora.

"Come, my apprentice. We need to talk about your visions..."

To Be Continued...

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Woo! Another chappie. Sorry it took sooo long. Both me and Zenny have been uber busy. Hope you enjoyed. Please leave your feedback.

SWTOR: Ebon Hawk server

Names to look for: Aozoraa, Zendius - Empire

Rykanda, Aozorai - Republic

We do not own Star Wars, SWTOR, or anything related to them. We do own our individual characters


	5. The Birth

...Months pass as a war rages between the Emperor and the Grey jedi, led by his rival Rykanda. Zendius constantly strikes down army after army of the greys, singly handed. With each passing battle his power grows and grows, but Zendius would soon find out that with this much power, there are consequences.

Meanwhile, his apprentice, Zora, is being plagued with dreams and nightmares, memories of her past life as a jedi. It was all that stupid twilek soldier's fault, making Zora remember her childhood like that. Some might be worried that Zora would turn on her master now that she fully remembered her previous life. But Zendius was not worried. No, his corruption of Zora was far too deep, too consuming. She couldn't betray him even if she wanted to.

So he merely put her through more training, to discipline her slowly unraveling mind. It worked, just not to the extent he had hoped. She threw herself into training, but she just couldn't shake the dreams, the memories.

"More, my apprentice. Show me more of your power, your hatred!" Zendius demanded as Zora fought off dozens of practice droids. She was outnumbered fifty to one, but she was holding her ground. "I want to see it, apprentice. I want to feel your hatred for your former master. Show me!" he turned up the difficulty settings on the droids and Zora was suddenly overwhelmed. With a cry of pain she was knocked back into a wall. Gasping for breath, she slid down the wall until she was on her knees. Her lightsaber fell to the ground beside her. Zendius frowned in disappointment and approached his apprentice. She looked up at him weakly as he stopped in front of her.

"You disappoint me." his tone was cold and harsh and made Zora flinch. "You are improving yet declining all at once, apprentice. You get stronger, yet weaker every day. You have so much more potential, but you refuse to let go of your past. Let go, Zora. Embrace your future at my side."

"I'm... I'm trying, master... I'm trying..." Zora panted as she tried to regain her breath.

"Do or do not. There is no try!" he glared at her, his power surging around him. Lightning flew off his body and zapped some nearby droids, causing them to explode. Seeing this, he took a second to reign in his power. Zora just looked at him in shock and fear as he turned from her and returned to his throne. He sat down and turned his focus on Zora again. "What is holding you back from letting go of your past? Childhood memories?"

"I... I don't know, master." Zora said as she struggled to her feet. "I think... memories of jedi training and meditation... I think I may be subconsciously meditating, master."

"Then we shall have to remedy this." Zendius said as he glared at his apprentice. She flinched. She knew that look he was giving her. He was planning something truly evil. "Time for another trip to Tatooine, my apprentice. If we can't train out your past memories, we will shock them away as we did before."

"You don't mean..."

"Yes, apprentice. We are returning to the padawan training grounds on Tatooine."

* * *

Zendius grinned as he watched his apprentice train. She was finally free of the memories that plagued her. Their visit to Tatooine had been a success. They had shocked the little bit of light in her so much that it had retreated. Now she was able to focus on her training.

"Apprentice." Zendius called from his throne. Zora stopped her training and turned to him, approaching her master when he beckoned her to his side. She kneeled in from of her fearsome master. "You have grown much stronger, apprentice. You might even be a small challenge to me soon." he smirked at this. "I believe you have finally earned the title you want. I hereby name you Darth." Zora's eyes went wide at this, and she smiled widely.

"Thank you, my master." she says, bowing to him gratefully. Zendius smirks at her, prideful that his apprentice had grown so strong. Speaking of strength, he really needed to figure out what was going on with his. He would have power surges at random times, often destroying things in the process. He couldn't control his own power... and that was startling. Even now he... he...

"Master?" Zora looked up at her master as he appeared to zone out. She could feel his power steadily rising to frightening heights. She quickly backed away from him and hid behind a table as lightning and dark energy swirled around him. Had she not done that she would have been killed with the two guards that were always by the throne. She watched in fearful awe as the energy around her master grew brighter and brighter until it disappeared in a flash of light. Zendius collapsed onto his hands and knees, panting for breath as he weakly held himself up. Zora ran to her master, startled to see him in this weakened state. "Master... what happened... what can I do to help?"

"Zora..." he weakly looked up at his apprentice. "I'm dying... I have too much power. I can't control all of it." he coughed up blood now and rolled over onto his side. "Apprentice. Take me to Voss. The mystics there, they can do something." Zora nodded and quickly helped her master to his feet. Not an hour later they were in his ship flying at light speed towards Voss.

The moment they land on Voss, Zora is out of the ship and running to the nearest temple. She fights off any guard that dares get in her way, and she grabs the first mystic she sees, which happens to be that temple's leader. Knocking him out, she drags him back to the ship and takes off, making sure they are in the safety of space before bringing the mystic before her master.

The mystic groans as he regains consciousness. He sits up and looks around, seeing his attacker instantly in front of him. "Outsider, why have you taken me here?" he demands with a frown. "Return me now and my people will not demand retribution."

"I will return you once you have done what I need." Zora glared. "I care not what your people think. You will do as I say or I will throw you into the vacuum of space to die."

"What is it you require of me, outsider?" the voss frowns. Zora motions to her unconscious master.

"Heal him. He is dying."

The voss stood and approached the unconscious Emperor. He looked him over and frowned deeply before turning back to Zora. "I have seen this many times with other mystics. He has too much power within him. Some of it must be removed or he will perish."

"Then do it." Zora ordered. The voss nodded slightly.

"Please, bring a blanket. I will have need of it." Zora eyed him warily but walked off to grab what he needed. The voss turned his attention back to the dying sith. He sat down in front of him and began to meditate. Zora returned with a blanket to find the voss meditating and energies swirling around the room. She watched in awe as a large amount of energy was pulled from Zendius, forming a ball of light that hovered above his body. The ball of light then slowly floated over to Zora. She caught it with the blanket and stared in wonder as the light faded, revealing a tiny baby girl.

"What... just happened?" Zora questioned the voss as he stood.

"It is common among our strongest mystics. They become too strong, and thus require the energy within them to be changed into something else." the voss explained. "This is how our strongest mystics reproduce. The energy that departs them forms another life, identical to theirs except it is always an opposite gender. In this way, we maintain balance within the mystics."

"So this infant... is my master's energy?"

"Indeed." the voss nodded. "Will you return me, now?" Zora looked at him and then to her master, who already looked much better. She nodded and, placing the infant on a nearby cot, escorted him to an escape pod, sending him back to his home planet in the small pod. When she returned to the medbay she found that her master was awake, and holding the infant.

"Master." Zora approached him. "You look much better."

"I feel as such, too." Zendius nodded, looking down at the infant. "So this babe is where all my excess power went." Zora nodded in confirmation and he smirked. "She will be strong. Stronger than me." he let out a dark chuckle at the thought. "I name her Rulushi. My daughter."

* * *

Thanks for reading. The end is quickly approaching. Keep an eye out for the next chapters.


	6. The Legacy

**Chapter Six**

...Four years have passed and the Grey jedi have apparently retreated. There were no more attacks coming from them or from Rykanda. Zendius knows that they are regaining their numbers and growing in strength. He senses that it will not be long before they make their move. So he focuses on training himself, his apprentice, and his daughter.

Rulushi had aged quickly to maturity. Even though she had only been born four years prior, she now appeared as an eighteen year old girl. The fiery red-haired girl was very strong in the force but, due to her unnatural birth, tended to have split personalities. A sweet fun-loving childish side, and a dark and cruel evil side. She had taken to Zora as if she were her mother, and the two women were very close, both with undying loyalty to their master, Zendius.

Zora, too, had grown much stronger. She was a force to be reckoned with, and even gave Zendius a bit of a challenge when they dueled. With Zora and Rulushi by his side, nothing could stop him.

There came a day when all was quiet. Much too quiet for Zendius's liking. He was agitated, pacing back and forth in the throne room as Zora and Rulushi watched. He finally sighed and took his seat in his throne, looking over the two women in silence.

Then out of nowhere, the palace rocked with a loud tremor. Zendius perked up at this. So they were under attack. No wonder he was so irritated; he'd sensed that something was amiss.

"Master, could it be the Grays?" Zora questioned, having fallen to her knees from the rough tremor.

"Apprentice, go see who it is. I want this taken care of immediately." Zendius ordered her, ignoring her question. Zora nodded and hurried out of the palace, only to find a battle ground before her eyes. Republic walkers and troops were headed their way. At the head... Rykanda.

Zora scowls as she draws her light saber. So her former master had finally resurfaced? He had aged some, and he seemed more... at peace. She rushed towards him and he saw her coming. He drew his own light saber just in time to clash with hers. He knocks her back from him but does not strike at her.

"Zora, listen to me, please. I know he has you under his control. I know you were fighting him before, but you've given up." His words seemed to pierce her very soul and Zora frowned at this. "Don't give up, Zora. Fight his control. Come back to me. Surrender. Please." He held his hand out to her and Zora had a flashback of herself when she was younger. Back when she was but a small child, and after he'd saved her from her abusers, he'd held his hand out to her in this same fashion. Zora growled and shook her head, making the old memory fade away before she faced her former master with a glare.

"If you want me back, you will have to accept my corpse. That's only if you can kill me." she growled, lunging at him again. This time he did not hold back.

Their battle was fierce and long. Zora was powerful, very powerful, and she'd learned a few tricks under Zendius's tutelage. But Rykanda had also learned some new moves, and it seemed that he was even more powerful than before now. Zora had to kill him now, or soon he'd be more powerful than her master. She couldn't allow that.

"Zora, this is your last chance. Listen to reason, please. Surrender!" Rykanda called as he parried her attacks.

"Never! I'd rather die!" she snarled. She had the upper hand, having more mobility and dexterity than he did.

But he was wearing her down. The long battle was the toughest fight Zora had ever been in... and she was getting tired. With her exhaustion came clumsiness, and she was soon taking more hits than she'd like to admit. But she wasn't giving up. With a roar she jumped towards her master, her saber over her head as she prepared to cut him down. Her eyes locked with Rykanda's as she was mid-air, and she was hit with a powerful surge of... peace...

This sudden emotion caused her to stumble, and that was her downfall. She left herself wide open as Rykanda used the force to knock her into a nearby wall. The wall collapsed with the sheer force of the impact, falling down all around Zora... burying her alive.

Rykanda sheathed his light saber with a frown as he surveyed the wreckage. He felt for Zora's presence with the force, but found nothing. She could not have survived that...

Meanwhile, inside the palace, Zendius and Rulushi felt the disturbance in the force as Zora's energy faded. Rulushi let out an angry roar. How dare they kill the woman she saw as a mother! She would have her vengance! Rulushi grabbed her dual light sabers and ignited them, prepared to run out to the battle field. Her father's voice stopped her.

"Rulushi." he said sternly, making her turn to face him. He looked evil and ominous sitting on his throne, dark energy swirling around him and his eyes glowing red. He was angry, perhaps more so than she, but only his eyes told her such. "We will avenge her. Wait, and her killer shall make his appearance." he spoke. Rulushi growled in annoyance and anger, but sheathed her sabers. She dare not disobey her father.

Back outside, Rykanda took a minute to mourn for his lost padawan, and then he set his eyes on the palace. Mourning could wait. He had a monster to kill.

He marched into the palace, his allies on his heels. His long time friend and ally came up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He glanced at her, a woman in her late twenties with flowing red hair and peaceful green eyes. "Meekia."

"Rykanda, are you sure you are in a sound state of mind to do this?" Meekia asked calmly. She had, after all, just witnessed a powerful jedi master have to kill his former padawan. Even the most devout jedi would have been shaken by that.

"It matters not. In there," he motioned to the palace with a frown, "is a monster. We need to take him down, and it's now or never." Meekian merely nodded and let it go. He was right. No matter his state of mind, this needed to be done and it needed to be done now. She followed him into the palace, preparing for the fight of her life.

Zendius grins when Rykanda finally shows himself, accompanied with another jedi and a full squad of soldiers. He stands up from his throne and he faces his nemesis.

"So you finally show yourself." Zendius chuckles at Rykanda, who scowls. "You... how does it feel to have slain your own dearest padawan? I can't imagine the pain you must be feeling now."

"Don't you dare talk about my padawan. Zora was the most pure child I had ever met, and you corrupted her. Her blood is not on my hands, it is on yours." Rykanda frowns, drawing his saber and aiming it at the emperor. "Zendius, you have committed numerous crimes against the galaxy and the Republic. I am here to end your reign. I would rather take you alive but, if necessary, I will kill you." Zendius just chuckles darkly and draws his own saber.

"Oh, this will be fun." he grinned, hearing Rulushi also ignite her sabers. They were perhaps a split second away from battle when the throne room doors burst open and a powerful and familiar energy filled the air. Zendius raised his eyebrow at this. He was sure she'd been killed...

"Zora..." Rykanda regarded the woman as she walked towards them all, drawing her own lightsaber. Rykanda tensed and prepared for her to attack him, but he saw her eyes were focused on the two other sith in the room. She came up to Rykanda and stood at his side, surprising everyone when she aimed her light saber at Zendius.

"Zora?!" Rulushi couldn't hide her shock, but it quickly turned to anger. So her mother figure was betraying them?!

"Master, I would like you to clear some things up for me." Zora spoke, glancing at her master. "Why am I not on Balmorra, and who are these sith?" All eyes went wide at her words. Zora... had amnesia?! Rykanda stared at her in shock, and then smirked when he felt how pure her energy was now. She was not lying. She really didn't remember.

"We will discuss it later... my padawan. For now... Those two are enemies that must be defeated. Do you stand with me?" Rykanda asked, looking her in the eye. She gave him a determined look and nodded. "Then let us go into battle!"

And with those words everything errupted into chaos. Rykanda and Zora went after Zendius together, working efficiently together as if they'd never been separated. Meekia and the soldiers took on Rulushi, who was determined to go after Zora, but they got in her way. She clashed sabers with Meekia, giving the jedi a flirtatious wink. "You're pretty cute. Alright, I'll play with you first!"

The battle between Zora and Rykanda and Zendius was one for the ages. Both jedi put all their strength into wearing down the impossibly strong sith. Zora was surprising herself with how much stronger she was than when she was on Balmorra. She was using moves she'd never even learned before... and it just felt so natural to her. Her master, too, was using moves she'd never seen him use, and he was much, much stronger than she'd ever imagined he would be. Her lack of memory bothered her, but she pushed it aside to deal with the task at hand. They were winning. Zendius was losing strength and becoming clumsy.

Rykanda, with a brilliantly aimed saber strike, sliced across Zendius's chest. It was not deep enough to kill, but it was enough to end the fight. Zendius fell to his knees. Across the room Rulushi shouted. "No! Father!" The other battles paused as they watched the invincible emperor fall in defeat. It took all of a second for the battles to resume. Rykanda and Zora wasted no time rushing Zendius, pinning him to the ground and restraining him so he could be taken prisoner. Rulushi used all the commotion to escape, but they had their main target.

Zendius was defeated.

* * *

The aftermath of the battle left everyone with more questions than answers. Zora sat outside the palace, staring at the shuttle that Zendius was being escorted onto. She looked up as Rykanda came to stand beside her.

"What do you remember, padawan?" Rykanda asked her. She looked down and shrugged.

"I remember getting off the shuttle on Balmorra. After that... everything is fuzzy. I feel... darkness was there... but it's gone now." she bit her lip and looked off into the sunset now. "I did bad things, didn't I, master?"

"Yes." Rykanda sighed, sitting down beside her.

"That man... he's the reason why... isn't he?"

"He is." Rykanda nodded. "Fear not, my padawan. You will never have to see him again."

"Will you tell me what I have done, master?" Zora looked at him now. He was so much older and wiser than she'd remembered him. Just how much time has past since then?

"I will not." he sighed. "Until we get you to Tython I'm afraid learning of your past will have to wait."

"I... understand." Zora sighed, looking down at her lap. She needed to be before the council. They would be able to keep her from turning dark again after learning everything she'd done. They would be keeping a close eye on her for a very long time to come, she knew, but that was better than nothing.

"Come, padawan. Let's be off. We have a prisoner to deliver."

* * *

Tyhton. Home of the Jedi. Zendius scowled as he paced in the small room he was in. He was still handcuffed with force restraining cuffs, but at least he could walk around. He could sense about twenty fully trained jedi were guarding him and his room. Even if he managed to get out of the room, without removing the cuffs he could not escape. Even with the cuffs removed... he was still weakened... and would be for a while.

He was awaiting trail from the jedi council. And they were sure keeping him waiting. It had been several days already. He was barely given food and water, his wounds were not tended to. He smirked. The jedi kept their prisoners worse off than even he did.

It was turning night time on his fifth day there... when he heard shouting and clashing sabers. A familiar energy made its way to him and he grinned as his door opened. A quick slice of a crimson saber had removed his bindings, and he stared down at his faithful daughter as she handed him his lightsaber. She grinned back at him, her eyes glowing red in the darkness, and he gave her the same evil grin, his eyes the same glowing red as they stared into the blackness of Tython surrounding them.

The End... or is it?

* * *

Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading! We've put a lot of time and effort into this story and it means a lot that you guys have stuck with us all the way to the end, even when we took so long to get our updates out. Please comment and tell us how we did!

_I, Zora, give you guys my sincerest thanks._

**I, Zendius, thank you as well. Keep an eye out, as I may be returning in another story.**

Remember:

_**The End of a Story is Not the End of a Legacy.**_


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